THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 





er means of obtaining food, will require sonietliina^ 

 more than a quart of Indian corn a day ; I think 

 fifteen busiiels a year a fair provision for them. 

 But more or less, let them always have enougli by 

 them ; and after they have become habituated to 

 find enough at all times, a plenty in their little 

 manger, they take but a few kernels at a time, ex- 

 cept just before retirinir to roost, when they will 

 take nearly a spoonful! into their crops ; but just so 

 sure as their provision comes to them scanted or ir- 

 regularly, so surely tliey will raven up a whole 

 crop full at a time, and will stop laying. 



A single dozen fowls, properly attended, will fur- 

 nish a family with more than 2,000 eggs in a year, 

 and 100 full grown cliickcns for fall and winter 

 stores. The expense of feeding the dozen fowls 

 will not amount to eighteen bushels of Indian corn. 

 They may be kept in cities as well as in the coun- 

 try, and will do as well shut up the year round as 

 to run at large ; and a grated room, v/ell lighted, 

 ten feet by five, partitioned from any stable or other 

 out house, is sufficient for the dozen fowls with 

 their roosting places, nests and feeding troughs. 



At the proper season, viz. in the spring of the 

 year, five or six hens will hatch at the same time, 

 and the fifty or sixty chickens given one hen. Two 

 hens will take care of 100 chickens well enough, 

 until they begin to climb their little stick roosts : 

 they tlicn should be separated from the hens entire- 

 ly ; they will wander less, and do better away from 

 the fowls. I have often kept the chickens in my 

 garden ; they keep the May bugs and other insects 

 away from the vines, &c. 



In cases of confining fowls in summer, it should 

 be remembered that a ground room should be cho- 

 sen ; or it will do just as well to set into their pen 

 boxes of dried sand or kilndricd, well pulverized 

 earth, for them to wallow in, in warm weather. 



Con. Couranl. 



Preserve youf best Animals lor Breeding. 



The complaint is general, at le^st throughout the 

 eastern states, that the stock of neat cattle has been 

 greatly diminished within a few years, and that pri- 

 ces have consequently advanced to an unpreceden- 

 ted pitch. And it is believed to be a general fault 

 among farmers, that they sell their best young ani- 

 mals to the butchers. The season has arrived when 

 it becomes the farmer to improve his practice in 

 these matters. He should preserve his best animals 

 for breeding; raise m.ore stock, if his farm will per- 

 mit, and substitute iuiprovcd breeds, or at all events 

 cross upon them. 



He should prrsn-t^e his best individnals for breed- 

 ing. For a dollar or two extra the farmer sells his 

 best calf to the butcher ; which, if kept as a breed- 

 f* r, would not only serve to improve his whole stock, 

 but the individual thus s.icrificed for a dollar or 

 two, would in many cases, lie worth, at the working 

 or milking age, and with no extra expense of keep, 

 ten, twenty, or fifty dollars more, than the poor calf 

 rejected by the butcher, and wiiich consequently 

 serves as a breeder upon tile farm, still further to 

 depreciate the character of the farm stock. The 

 farmer who breeds from poor or inferior animals, in 

 a manner throv.'s away capital. He who breeds on- 

 ly from select animals jrets common interest. And 

 he who breeds from select animals, of the choice 

 breeds, gets compound interest. Choice working 

 oxen, of four or five years old, of common stock, 

 or with the Devon cross, have recentlv been sold 

 for one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars 

 the pair. This surely alfords a handsome remu- 

 neration to the breeder. There is generally a dif- 

 ference of about one half, in cows and oxen, be- 

 tween select and inferior individuals of the common 

 breeds. 



He should raise more stork. — Many of our farm- 

 ers have been "penny wise and pound foolish," in 

 destroying calves at their birth, in order to turn a 

 few gallons of milk into ready money, thus retard- 

 ing the increase, and enhancing the value of dairy 

 stock. Cattle are the source of fertility to the farm 

 — dung makes fat crops, and fat crops make fat 

 cattle. In districts vemoti^ from marltet, wlicre 

 land is cheap, the rearing of neat cattle should cer- 

 tainly be a profitable business. It is so upon well 

 managed farms, in the contiguity of markets, where 

 lands are high. It n\\iy be made still more so at re- 

 mote points, where lantfs are comparativel_y low, par- 

 ticularly if select breeds, or select individuals, are 

 employed as breeders. But, 



He should select the hreeds best adopted to hhfanii. 

 Having determined upon this, let him stick to it; 

 preserve his finest animals to propagate from ; make 

 it his business to improve, and he will smin find, 

 that instead of ten and twelve dollars, his 3'earlings 

 and two year olds will bring him twenty, fifty, and 

 even a Uundrod and fifty dollars each — nay, the 



last summer has demonstrated, that choice animals, I A ground plan, or map of all the country wa 

 of improved breeds, will bring 1,500 to 2,100 dol- have travelled over, has been carefully kept, and 

 lars sometimes. — ilbamj CultiviUor. will serve as a basis for a geological map of the 



State. It ought not, however, to be published un- 

 til we have completed the v/ork. 



Embracing a wide territory, based ujjon so many 

 rock formations, ]\Iaine possesses mineral wealth 

 to an extent of whifdi it is difficult to form an ade- 

 quate idea, and respecting which, but little is yet 

 known. The results of two seasons' labor have 

 already given us ample satisfaction, and shew tliat 

 Maine is not behind her sister States in n itural 

 resources. 



During the infancy of any State, tlie inliabitants 

 naturally avail themselves of those products most 

 readily attained, and hence we find, that in Maine, 

 the first industry was turned towards the forests, 

 and timber became the principal article of exjiort. 

 As the forests began to be cleared of Iieavy pine 

 trees, the people sought new occupations. Those 

 on the sea-coast availed themselves of the fisheries 

 and navigation. 



Limestone quarries being discovered in some 

 towns, changed the business of the community, 

 and a nev/ branch of trade sprang into existence. 



Granite becoming an article of value for archi 

 tecture, in tho olties of the west, caused a portion 

 of the community to turn their industry in that di- 

 rection. 



Farming became requisite to furnish supplies, 

 and it was soon found that agriculture could be 

 made a profitable employment. 



In a more advanced stage of society, mines be- 

 gin to be opened, manufacturing operations are car- 

 ried on, and thousands of new sjin-ces of wealth 

 begin to pour fortli their various treasures. With 

 increased resources, men soon begin to find time 

 for literary and scientific pursuits, and a more ex- 

 alted intellectual and moral culture extends itself 

 over the country. Genius and taste soon burst the 

 confines of mere mechanical and mercantile em- 

 ployments, and a portion of the community find 

 time for literary and scientific pursuits ; and the 

 productions of the mind b^rgin to appear in vai'ious 

 works of science or of taste. Thus we trace for- 

 ward the jirogress of society, and it will be found, 

 that tlie natural resources of the country engender 

 and support everj' department of human culture. 



When we travel over a region where civilized 

 men have not yet appeared, and where the wood- 

 man's axe has never resounded, by a geological 

 knowledge of the country, we can predict, with a 

 great degree of certainty, the occupations of those 

 persons who will subsequently settle there, and 

 trace the various stages of tlieir imjirovement ; for 

 the natural resources of the country produce the 

 various employments which are followed, and 

 knowing those resources, we can predict tlie pur- 

 suits of the inhabitants. 



Dr. Buckland, in his admirable Bridgewatcr trea- 

 tise, makes the following remarks, shelving the in- 

 fluence of the geological structure of Great Brit- 

 ain, over the employments and physical condition 

 of the people in that country. 



" If a stranger, landing at the extremity of Eng- 

 land, were to traverse the whole of Cornwall and 

 the North of Devonshire ; and crossing to St. Da- 

 vid's, should make the tour of all North Wales ; 

 and passing thence through Cumberland, by the 

 Isle of Man, to the south-western shore of Scot- 

 land, should proceed either through the hilly re- 

 gion of the Border Counties, or, along the Gram- 

 pians, to the German Ocean; he wonM conclude 

 from such a journey of many hundred miles, that 

 Britain was a thinly peopled sterile region, whose 

 principal inhabitants were miners and mountain- 

 eers. 



"Another foreigner, arriving on the coast of De- 

 von, and crossing the Midland Counties, from the 

 mouth of Exe, to that of Tyne, would find a con- 

 tinued succession of fertile hills and valleys, thick- 

 ly overspread with towns and cities, and in many 

 parts crowded with manufacturing population, 

 whose industry is maintained l)y tJn' coal with 

 which tlie strata of these districts are abundantly 

 interspersed.^ 



" A tliird foreigner might travel from the coast 

 of Dorset to the coast of Yorkshire, over elevated 

 plains of oolitic limestone, or of chalk ; witiiout 



Geology of Maine. 



BY CII.\RLES T. JACKSON, JI. D. 



A geological survey signifies an examination of 

 the na.ture, situation and mineralogical contents of 

 all the various rocks, minerals and soils. 



It determines the order of super-position and rel- 

 ative ages of the different strata, th<'ir mode of dis- 

 ruption, and the nature of the unstratified rocks, 

 that have been intruded from below, into the strata 

 through which they cut, while, at the same time, 

 the various beds and veins of valuable minerals 

 form conspicuous objects for the surveyor's atten- 

 tion. 



How is a geological survey to be conducted:' 

 This question, may be answered as follows : The 

 district in question is first to be examined, so a-s to 

 ascertain tho order of strata, and the relative age of 

 each stratum, while at the same time, the intersect- 

 ing rocks are to be observed. The method pursued 

 is first to form a plan of operations, so th.it all the 

 observations may be recorded, in an orderly man- 

 ner, that no confusion may arise in the completion 

 of the work. 



My plan for the geological survey of Maine, has 

 been first, to abtain a longitudinal section of the 

 the State, and the sea-coast gave mc an admirable 

 opportunity of effecting that purpose. An outline 

 map of the rocks along the whole coast of Maine, 

 I have now completed, and this outline may he fill- 

 ed up hereafter, as may be found desirable. Then 

 the North Eastern Boundary, according to the trea- 

 ty of 1783, was surveyed, and gave one transverse 

 section of the strata of the State, from the sea-coast 

 to the Madawaska river. This line has since been 

 carried out to the Canada frontier, and to the St. 

 Lawrence river. A sectionalline was then surveyed 

 from the mouth of the Penobscot, and up that riv- 

 er through the Allagash lakes, to the shores of the 

 St. Lawrence, up the Sebois to the Aroostook, and 

 down that river to the St. .John. Two transverse 

 sections, and one of a winding form, was thus ob- 

 tained, which give the order of super-position of 

 strata. 



A line running through the State, longitudinally, 

 N. E. and S. W. from Bangor to the New Hampshire 

 line, give the length of the great formations, in a 

 longitudinal direction ; and the New Hampshire 

 line served to complete a portion of the Western 

 boundary. 



It will be seen at a glance, that it has been my 

 object to obtain the limits of the great rock forma- 

 tions of the State, and to make sectional lines. 

 Besides which, I have also taken advantage of the 

 great river courses, to divide tlie State into large 

 natural squares, and the rivers arc so disposed as to 

 favor the operation. Thus the sea-codst forms the 

 base line for all the squares. Between the St. Croix 

 and the Penobscot and St. John rivers, we have the 

 first great Eastern square ; and between the Pe- 

 nobscot and the Kenneljec, we have another, which 

 is bounded on the North by the St. John. This 

 firms a Middle square. Between the Kennebec 

 and the New Hampshire boundary, we have our 

 third, or Western square. These divisions are to 

 be again subdivided, according to the minuteness 

 of the survey, and the facilities for accomplishing 

 the work. 'The Androscoggin meanders from the 

 N. W. corner of the State, and sweeping in an ir- 

 regular manner through the country, gives an ad- 

 mirable zig-zag section through the Western square, 

 in a diagonal direction. 



I have adopted this plan for several reasons. 

 First, because it is easy to ■form a distinct idea of 

 these natural divisions, so that they are more easi- 

 ly remembered than arbitrary sections. Secondly, 

 because along the sea-coast and river courses, we 

 gain more ready access to the naked rocks. Third- 

 I3', the rivers run in such directions, as to give 

 transverse sectional views. Fourthly, it is fre- 

 quently the case, that there is no other way to cross 

 the country than by the rivers. This is especially the 

 case ill our long sections tlirough the State to Can- 

 ad.i, and through the Aroostook territory.' 

 • Several of these sections are already completed, 

 while others arc yet to be made. Tlie great Ken- 

 nebec section promises to furnish much valuable 

 information, and that region will be explored dur- 

 ing the next campaign. 



In surveying these variou,^ sectional lines, where 

 it v.'as found practicable, I have measured tlie alti- 

 tudes of every important point, by ineans of an ex- 

 cellent barometer, so that we shall be able, in a fu- 

 ture report, to present you with profile views of the 

 country, showing the relative elevations of the land 

 and the nature of the rocks, with th^-ir order and 

 super-position. 



* U fiiiy he peen, in any correct geiilncical iii.ij} of Eng- 

 lantl, ili.-if the lollowiny imiKirlaiit and populous tnwiisart! 

 placed upon .'Strata belenyinj; tii llie single {leninyical rurnin- 

 tioil of lliencw red s.inilstime : K.veter, Bristol, Worce.sler, 

 U'arwicit, Uinnin^hiliM, Litchfield, Coveiurv. Iji'itesler, 

 Noiljnuham, Derby, StrafTord, Shrev\'sbury, t'iie^ler, Liver- 

 pool, Wart ins;lon, Manchester, I'rcston, VorU jiii'l Carli.sle. 

 'I hi; pn|iulation of these nineteen towns, by the census of 

 ]83't, e\cee(1ed a million. 



'/'he most convenient small ninp to which I can refer nn* 

 readers, in illustration of this and other parts of rlie presi-n'l 

 essay, is till! single slieet rednct^d by Gardner Ironi Mr. 

 Greenou^h's larks' map of F.nplanfi, publisj.ed by the f'.eo- 

 lo2iraI Society of Loi>iloti. 



